


It's the Little Things in Life that Mean the Most

by RealityBetterThanFiction



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Happy Ending, I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY FOR MYSELF, M/M, OT5, Rite of Passage, Why do I always hurt Niall?, a wee bit of angst, mostly just ridiculous fluff, no smut just vague mentions of it, some very brief and not very detailed depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 20:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityBetterThanFiction/pseuds/RealityBetterThanFiction
Summary: Niall always knew he would be a late bloomer. Last to get his 12 year molars, last to hit his pubescent growth spurt, last to welcome his voice dropping, last to grow facial hair. So it was no wonder that he was the last of all his friends to shift for the first time.----A self indulgent shapeshifter AU where Niall learns some valuable lessons about life, friendship, and the importance of seasoning his poultry.





	It's the Little Things in Life that Mean the Most

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaerie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaerie/gifts).



> I have a million other things I should be writing, but for whatever reason, my brain would not let this go until I had written eight thousand words in a single sitting. I blame Niall...and Harry's gucci ad campaign. 
> 
> This is dedicated to my dear friend Jenna (jaerie) who writes the most amazing shapeshifter and werewolf fiction. Go check out all of her stuff. She was the one who enabled this mess, so it's only fair it's in her honor. Love you, wolf pack sister.
> 
> Also BIG thanks to my always lovely squadron mate, Addy (freetheankles), for the beta work!
> 
> ***Do not repost, translate, change names, or otherwise distribute this work on Ao3 or any other writing platform (such as Wattpad). I do not give consent, and without it, that is considered copyright infringement. I will report.

Niall always knew he would be a late bloomer. Last to get his 12 year molars, last to hit his pubescent growth spurt, last to welcome his voice dropping, last to grow facial hair (aside from Harry who would probably never possess that ability judging by the three measly hairs that sprouted from his chin and his strugglestache). So it was no wonder that Niall was the last of all his friends to shift for the first time.

 

It was a rite of passage. A coming of age. Between age sixteen and eighteen, every young adolescent presented as their spirit animal, undergoing their first shift of shape. It was a celebrated event that teenagers eagerly anticipated, spending long hours daydreaming about what creature their new form would take.

 

As Niall’s friends shifted, one-by-one, he grew more excited about his own upcoming milestone of maturity. But with each shift that wasn’t his, Niall started to realize that maybe something had gone wrong.

 

While most of the population smoothly transitioned into adulthood with their spirit form realized, it wasn’t unheard of for a person to _never_ shift. In fact, it was happening more frequently in the past few decades, for reasons scientists couldn’t explain. Evolution. Gene mutations. Overpopulation. Pollution. There was hot debate and feverish research trying to figure out why a spirit animal would withdraw.

 

Where Niall used to spend those last shimmering moments of lucidity before sleep at night imagining his shifted form, now he spent them imagining himself the subject of cold, clinical study - poked and prodded and sampled to see why he was such a screw-up.

 

Tonight’s regularly scheduled episode of panic was interrupted by a text message from Louis, phone screen lighting up his darkened room. If only the context of the text could light up his own darkened mood.

 

**Harry shifted. Wait till you see the big oaf. Meet in the clearing. Fifteen minutes.**

 

Niall sighed. Harry was the last of their group of friends, aside from Niall, who had yet to shift. And the two of them had been the last in their entire year of school who hadn’t shifted. Now Niall was the sole occupant of a club to which he desperately didn’t want to belong.

 

But Niall wouldn’t hurt one of his best friends by not showing up to their clearing. It had been the tradition for the past few years. Whenever one of them shifted, they met at the clearing in the forest by their town to celebrate, running wild in their new forms for the first time.

 

Louis, as he was for most things, had been first. He’d gone to bed one night as a perfectly normal sixteen year old boy, and when his mother went to wake him up the next morning for school, she had found a sleek black panther curled up on his bed snoozing away. That night, their first in the clearing, Louis had chased the boys around, winning every round of hide and seek they played thanks to his newly heightened feline senses. When they’d finally tired of the games near dawn, Louis had curled up with his head on Harry’s lap, purring like an oversized house cat while Harry happily scritched behind his ears.

 

Zayn had been next, and was decidedly less cuddly, seeing as he’d taken the shape as a massive King Cobra. When they went to the clearing that night, he’d refused to leave the car at first, hissing at anyone who came near him. It had been Liam, always the bravest of them, to finally coax Zayn out of the car. He started singing _Crawling King Snake_ by The Doors, and Zayn was charmed right out of the back seat. He spent most of the rest of the night curled around Liam’s shoulders while they passed around a joint and looked up at the stars.

 

Liam’s shift had been, by far, the most dramatic. He’d shifted at school. Niall had been next to him in Biology lab when he’d noticed his usually attentive friend was leaning his head on the desk, groaning in pain with beads of sweat forming at his temples. The teacher had asked Liam if he wanted to go to the nurse. Liam had declined and said he just needed to take the bathroom pass. Fifteen minutes later, an announcement had sounded over the loudspeaker in the room asking any available staff members to please make their way to the second floor science wing because there was apparently a Grizzly bear in the boys bathroom. That night, Louis finally had a worthy challenger to their ritual games of chase.

 

Niall sat back and watched all of his friends change, and all of their classmates too. Wolves, monkeys, tigers, crocodiles, and even a rhinoceros. Niall watched them show off in the field near the school during senior free period with envy. They weren’t allowed to shift within the walls of the school, but outside, it was like a zoo without cages, everyone trying to impress with fur and feather and talons and teeth. And there was Niall, at the center of the pheromones and phylogeny with his fragile human flesh, blunt human teeth, and bitten down human nails, wondering if this was going to be his lot in life...for the rest of his life.

 

Niall had been eighteen since September, one of the first birthdays of his high school class, and his window was closing. It seemed that his spirit animal, in all its long awaited glory, was the same old species that he’d been since the day he was born.

 

Human.

 

**Are you coming????**

 

Niall groaned when the second text from Louis came through. He wouldn’t get a third. Louis would just show up and drag him out his window if he didn’t reply. Louis didn’t tolerate being ignored. And he _certainly_ wouldn’t tolerate anyone ignoring his boy’s big day.

 

Harry and Louis had been dating ever since the night of Louis’ first shift. And they’d been practically tied at the hip for the two years prior to that, playing a very different game of chase than the ones they played in the clearing. They had been waiting for nearly a year to finally run together in their spirit forms. As sullen as Niall was about his own circumstances, he wouldn’t miss seeing that for the world.

 

Niall sent Louis a quick text saying he was on his way, and then figured he’d better follow through unless he wanted to suffer the consequences. He dragged himself out of bed and got dressed quickly, quietly sneaking out of his second story window. After a precarious trip down the vines creeping up the side of his house, he pedaled his bike away from town to meet up with his friends. When he dropped it near the other four bikes at the edge of the woods, the only one of his friends that he saw was Liam, in grizzly form, scratching his back against the bark of a tree.

 

“Itchy again?” Niall asked, to which the massive bear in front of him grumbled. Liam was always complaining about his fur and how heavy and thick it was. Upon inspection, Niall saw that Liam wasn’t actually alone. Hidden under all that fur was a necklace in the form of a snake. The _Zayn chain_ , they always teased. Zayn flicked his tail lazily at Niall in greeting. Zayn always complained about being cold considering he was the only ectotherm of the bunch, and found the best solution was burying himself in Liam’s warm fur.

 

“Where are the other two?” Niall asked.

 

Liam grunted and tipped his big bear head in the direction of the forest.

 

“After you,” Niall said, and followed his friends deeper into the forest. It was dark, being past midnight now, but he wasn’t afraid. Perks of having terrifying predators and venomous reptiles as his best friends. Knowing Niall’s luck, Harry would probably fit right in with them, maybe a lion judging by his already formidable locks, or maybe he’d take on an aviary form, like an eagle. Niall selfishly hoped Harry turned into an eagle just so he could tease him about going bald.

 

When they broke the clearing, Niall had to smile. Because Harry wasn’t a bird of prey or a dangerous carnivore. No, Harry was a gangly, hooved, hay-eating horse. He pawed at the ground shyly as Niall moved from behind Liam’s big hairy girth to get a better look.

 

Harry took a few uncoordinated steps forward, knobby knees nearly knocking together, until he could nose against Niall’s shoulder.

 

“He’s still getting used to his legs,” Louis said, appearing in his human form, no doubt staying that way so he could calm Harry down. “Like Bambi on ice, this one,” he added fondly, running a hand up into Harry’s thick mane. Harry whinnied in reply and tossed the dark hair around proudly.

 

“When did it happen?” Niall asked.

  
“Just an hour ago,” Louis answered on Harry’s behalf. “We happened to be out here in the clearing anyway. We were just…”

 

He was cut off by Harry letting out a high pitched, panicked neigh, clumsily knocking his head into Louis’, nearly taking him off his feet.

 

“Watch it! I wasn’t gonna say what we were getting up to,” Louis told him, smacking at Harry’s flank and earning a horsely huff.

 

“I think we can imagine what you were getting up to just fine,” Niall said with a wince.

  
Louis smirked. “More like _getting it up_ ,” he sassed. “Always said he was hung like a horse.”

 

“I don’t want to know,” Liam voiced, having turned back to his human form. He’d put on a pair of sweats to cover up but was shirtless. Zayn was still slung around his neck, lazily curling his tail around Liam’s bicep.

 

“Anyway,” Louis continued loudly, “Like I was saying, were were...indisposed...and then Harry started to look really flushed and sweaty. More so than, you know, _usual_.” Harry snorted, puffing his forelock up away from his eyes. “Then Harry starts shaking all over and clutching at his stomach. One minute I’m half hard, looking down at my naked boyfriend and the next there’s this overgrown pony in front of me.”

 

Harry stomped at the ground, and Niall could almost hear his petulant protest.

 

Louis started laughing, and tickled under Harry’s chin. Harry still looked put out, well...as put out as a horse could look, but Niall didn’t miss the way he turned his head into Louis’ touch.

 

“Don’t worry, babe. Once you get these working,” he purred, nudging his knee at Harry’s quaking legs, “I’ll get back to riding you.”

 

“Guys!” Liam whined. “Come on.”

 

Louis cackled, and Harry brayed, surprisingly close to his honking human laugh.

 

“So what now?” Niall asked.

 

“Now?” Louis asked, a spark in his eye, patting Harry’s flank again. “We _run_.”

 

In one fluid motion, Louis’ frame melted into that of his panther, leaving shredded sweats in his wake. Harry nickered excitedly and hooved at the ground.

 

Harry took off with a loud neigh, all spindly legs and wild hair everywhere, tumbling toward the treeline. Louis gave a fierce roar and shot off after him, gracefully slicing through the tall grass in chase.

 

Liam sighed as he bent down to pick up the remains of Louis’ sweats. “His mother is going to skin him and make a nice panther throw rug. He’s been able to control his shifts for a year now, and yet he still comes home naked on a regular basis with a pile of tattered clothes.”

 

“It’s the drama of it all,” Niall said with a shrug.

 

“At least I have some self restraint,” Liam replied haughtily. “Don’t need my mom fancying a bear skin rug any time soon. Although I have to say losing some of this hair wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.” From around his neck, Zayn let out an intimidating hiss, showing off his fangs. Liam just patted his little head and then started pulling down his sweats. He tossed both his clothes and Louis’ shredded ones to Niall.

 

“I’ll go round them up, be back soon!” Liam said, vibrating with the excitement of letting loose.

 

Niall averted his eyes as Liam shifted into his bear. Where Louis’ shift had been like candle wax melting, Liam’s was an explosion. The energy crackled out from his core, fur erupting like a bomb as his roar echoed around the forest.

 

When he was gone, barreling off through the trees to catch up with the distant sounds of Harry and Louis playfully chasing one another, Niall was left alone.

 

He looked around at the now quiet forest and sighed heavily. What he wouldn’t give to be out there with them, part of the fun, but it wasn’t safe for him in this form. A misplaced claw, an errant fang, a clumsy hoof...and Niall would be in the emergency room. No one wanted that, so Niall would sit in the clearing and wait.

 

He claimed his usual patch of trampled grass and laid down on his back, looking up at the moon. Two hours later, when his friends finally emerged from the shadows of the trees, Niall was still in the same place, looking up at the same patch of sky. They were laughing, arms slung around each other and chattering about the festivities, about Louis climbing a tree, about Harry running into that same tree. They greeted Niall warmly, telling him all the funny stories, trying to bring him in on the jokes, but it was always a “you had to have been there,” kind of thing.

 

When Zayn finally decided to slither out of his snake skin, he produced a bag of weed from his backpack and they lit it up, passing around the joint.

  
Harry was the only one who still hadn’t shifted back to human form, but that was probably because Louis had woven pretty braids into his mane, tucking wildflowers into the plaits while Harry peacefully drifted in and out of sleep standing up.

 

It was one of those moments that sparkled with memory, something they would look back on fondly years from now when they were separated by college and the demands of the real world.

 

 _“Do you remember the night Harry shifted?”_ one of them would ask with a smile.

 

_“Ah yes. What a night. The last of us to shift.”_

 

Niall would never be the cause of a memory like that. He would never be the reason for them coming together to celebrate, to chase, to bond. Sometimes it felt like he wasn’t even really here. Like maybe someday when they were recalling these moments, they might just forget about the person waiting in the clearing while they were off making the memories.

 

_“Was Niall with us that night?”_

 

_“I don’t remember.”_

 

It was then that Niall realized, surrounded by the laughter of friends, in the warmth of a bonfire and haze of sweet smoke, he felt more alone than he ever had before.

  


xxxxx

  


The year passed by slowly after that, seeing as there was nothing else to look forward to aside from graduation. And Niall wasn’t really looking forward to that anyway. It was the end of this little bubble of youth. The start of something unknown. He’d be going off to college in a few short months, away from home, away from his safety blanket. He’d be odd man out again, and he had no doubt that his peers in college would be even more ruthless than the ones he’d had in high school, letting him know how unwelcome the boring little human was in their circles. At least in high school he’d had the boys, and if anyone dared to single him out, they’d quickly be faced with four pretty protective - and terrifying - allies at Niall’s back. Once he got to college, he’d be on his own...well almost.

 

Niall had just accepted a spot in the freshman class at the University of Michigan. Thankfully Harry would be attending there as well, and they were going to be roommates. Louis wouldn’t be far away, seeing as he had been accepted at Michigan State. Niall was pretty sure that even such a storied college rivalry wouldn’t do much to detract from how dedicated Louis and Harry were to one another.

 

But Liam and Zayn would be headed off in the opposite direction, to the University of Denver. “For the mountains,” Liam had said, thinking of his bear. “For the weed,” Zayn had said, thinking of his Liam. That had been another thing to happen in the past few months, surprising no one.

 

With graduation only a few short days away and classes for seniors officially over, the boys were all sitting around their regular booth at the late night diner they frequented after spending time in the clearing. It would be their last run together for a while, since Zayn and Liam were taking off for Denver a few days after graduation. Zayn had been accepted into a summer program there for his art major, and Liam was going to start off-season training with the hockey team.

 

It had been a bittersweet night, but more of the same for Niall. He’d spent most of it alone in the clearing thinking about all that was about to change in his life until the boys had ambled back to him around midnight, demanding late night dessert.

 

They had just been delivered a round of milkshakes when it happened.

 

It was sudden, without warning. Niall felt a little queasy, a little disoriented, and then his entire body seemed to cave in on itself and his visual field exploded. There were colors he’d never seen before, of which he couldn’t even begin to name. And he could see _so much_. It felt like he could see in panorama, nearly 300 degrees around his body. It made it pretty easy to see the shocked faces of his friends, sitting around him. The milkshake that Niall had been holding went crashing down, spraying across the table, but no one moved an inch.

 

_Holy shit._

 

All the boys were silent, jaws slack as they watched their friend mark this major milestone of life in the middle of an all-night diner. And then Louis was laughing. No, not just laughing. Roaring was more apt. It sounded almost like his panther. Tears were streaming from his eyes as he pointed at Niall. Harry frowned and smacked Louis upside the head to get him to stop, which was good because the noise was hurting Niall’s newly sensitive ears. He tried to tell Louis to shut the fuck up, but all that came out was...a squawk.

 

No.

 

 _No_.

 

Niall looked down at his legs and gasped, another squawk.

 

Claws. There were claws on the bench of the diner seat in place of his feet, his Nikes abandoned under the table with his pants, t-shirt swimming around him. Niall had always had skinny legs, but now there were knobby yellow stumps up from the claws that led to his plump, feather covered body, speckled in his dessert. He extended his arm and a wing unfurled and flapped at the air. Milkshake went flying everywhere.

 

“Watch it!” Zayn protested, raising his hand to shield from the lactose attack.

 

“Hey! Check out drumsticks, over here!” Louis hollered, standing up on the bench, drawing the attention of the three other patrons and bored looking waitress at the diner. “It’s his first shift!”

 

Niall was absolutely mortified. He sunk down into the faded, cracked vinyl bench, trying to hide. The boys were not about to accept that.

 

“Niall...” Harry whispered, clutching his hands to his chest. He still had a braid in his hair from this evening and a daisy tucked behind his ear. His eye were practically hearts. “Congratulations! Look how beautiful you are. Look at your lovely little plume!”

 

“I’m a fucking chicken!” Niall screamed in anguish, but instead, a rooster’s crow filled the air.

 

“I knew you could do it,” Liam said, a bit misty eyed, from his seat beside Niall. He reached out to ruffle Niall’s feathers.

 

Niall deflated. He’d wanted his shift, had desperately prayed for it, but this? It had to be some sick cosmic joke. Retribution for some grave offense. The poultry gods punishing him for that one time he forgot to season his chicken.

 

Oh god. _Chicken_. He could never eat chicken again. It was like...cannibalism.

 

Niall clucked sadly. No more chicken wings for him.

 

“You know what this means,” Louis said after he had composed himself. “Back to the clearing! It’s Niall’s turn!”

 

Niall tried to cheer up for that, but it was pretty hard to do. He couldn’t see how a chicken would fit into the usual games they played in the clearing.

 

Before Niall could react, Harry picked him up and tucked him under his arm. Louis threw a twenty on the table to cover their bill and then they were piling into Louis’ beat up old truck and heading back to the clearing.

 

“Cheer up, Nialler!” Harry said, stroking Niall’s feathers where he was holding his bird body on his lap in the shotgun seat. They were racing down the empty back roads towards the forest. Niall thought it was a little insensitive that Louis had chosen to queue up Zac Brown Band’s _Chicken Fried_ on his Spotify, singing along like they weren’t talking about cooking Niall’s kind and serving him up with a cold beer. “Think of all the cool things you can do now!”

 

“We already know you can crow!” Louis offered, one hand on the wheel and one hand poking at Niall’s wattles. He let out a horrible imitation. Niall was insulted, and let him know with a sharp peck to the thigh.

 

“Maybe you can fly!” Liam offered, leaning up between the front seats. “That’d be sick!”

 

Niall chortled. Chickens couldn’t fly. Everyone knew that. All they were good for was chicken nuggets and eggs.

 

Oh god. What if he started laying eggs?! He didn’t even know if male chickens laid eggs. He should have paid more attention in biology instead of trying to hit Liam with spitballs the entire class period. He didn’t need this kind of stress in his life. He just wanted to be a regular college student. Raising a flock of chicklets was really going to cramp his style. Where would he even keep them in his dorm room? At least Harry would surely help. He loved cute little baby animals.

 

Niall’s thoughts of fostering an army of baby chicks was cut short when they pulled up to the edge of the forest. They scurried out of the car and ran right into the thick of the trees, hooting and hollering the whole way. Niall was still tucked in Harry’s arms and was getting a little bit motion sick from all the jostling as Harry tripped through the underbrush.

 

When they got to the clearing, they all stopped, panting and flushed.

 

Louis was the first to act. He grabbed a startled Niall from Harry’s arms. Niall’s ruff went up in defiance, puffing out his feathers.

 

“Hey! That’s a cute trick!” Louis said and then he proceeded to throw Niall into the air. “Fly, little chick, fly!” Louis cried.

 

It didn’t end well.

 

With an alarmed squawk, Niall flapped his new wings, but he was already on his way down...and fast.

 

All the boys winced when Niall hit the ground.

 

Niall shook his feathers out and picked himself up. His leg hurt and his feathers were all bent on one side now. Thanks a lot, Louis.

 

“Hm,” Louis said, crouching down near Niall. “Maybe those wings are just for show?”

 

Niall showed him just what his wings could do, violently flapping them at Louis, causing him to startle at the display and fall back onto his butt into the dirt.

 

Niall crowed in satisfaction and pecked at Louis’ Vans.

 

“Maybe try again?” Harry suggested as he kneeled down too, brushing Niall’s feather’s back into place. “On your own terms,” he added, glaring at Louis.

 

And try he did. Niall tried desperately, for a painful half hour, but flight was apparently not an ability of which his chicken body was capable yet. He got a few inches off the ground and subsequently crash landed into the grass again.

 

Now his feathers were covered in milkshake _and_  mud. How lovely. His mother was going to be so happy when he came home. But at least he hadn’t torn any of his clothes like Louis always did. His mother might pluck him bald if she had to keep buying new clothes every time he went full on avian.

 

“You’ll just have to keep practicing,” Harry tried reassuringly.

 

In order to distract Niall from his failure at flight, the boys decided to start up their usual game of chase. But that did little to boost Niall’s spirits. He couldn’t fly, his legs were too short to carry him very fast on the ground, and he was pretty sure that he would get trampled out there if he were to partake. He had better odds as a human.

 

The boys were in the process of shifting when they realized this too.

 

Louis and Harry were already in their spirit forms when Liam addressed the elephant - or chicken - in the room.

 

“Maybe you can stick with Harry this time?” he suggested, “Until you’re better with the flying.”

 

Harry nickered and bobbed his head up and down to agree. He snuffled and bent his head down to nose at Niall’s little body.

 

“Don’t feel bad,” Zayn said, “I stick with Liam. It’s nice not having to run. Let them do all the work, we just get to go along for the ride.”

 

And with that, his clothes abruptly fell to ground, his snake form slithering out from beneath the pile to wind around Liam’s legs.

 

Without any other options, Niall allowed Liam to gently lift him up onto Harry’s back where he could catch a ride to the forest. Niall spared himself a moment of pity for the fact that the first time he was able to engage in their traditional games, he would be doing so as a passenger.

 

But then he watched as Liam made his gruesome shift and delicately lifted Zayn up - mindful of his claws - to wrap around his neck. Zayn waved the end of his tail at Niall in solidarity.

 

And then they were off. Harry went galloping towards the forest, and Niall had to clutch his claws into Harry’s mane to stay in place. The wind through his feathers was incredible. Harry was fast, much more coordinated than he’d been that first shift. It almost felt like Niall was flying. If he closed his eyes and spread his wings out, it was nearly the real thing.

 

If Niall was capable of words, he’d be quoting the iconic scene from _Titanic_. He knew Harry would appreciate that.

 

Instead, he just crowed along with Harry’s neighing as they cut their path through the forest. Niall could hear Liam plowing through the trees behind them and caught glimpses of Louis’ lithe shape darting ahead of them.

 

Harry whinnied and then took a sharp cut to the left, starting the chase. He ran and ran for what felt like hours, leaping over logs and charging right through the shallow streams that threaded through the trees. Niall could no longer hear their friends chasing after them, and wondered how far they had gotten into the forest.

 

Harry started to slow a little, panting now with sweat giving his coat an iridescent sheen in the moonlight. He stopped abruptly and let out a little anxious clicking noise. He turned his head one way and then the other, as if trying to determine their path. Then he turned back around and looked at Niall over his shoulder.

 

Harry blinked his big, round eyes, and Niall didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that they were lost.

 

There was a rustling from the trees then, and Niall clucked in relief. It was probably Louis, trying to mess around with them. At least they weren’t alone now.

 

A menacing growl sounded from just ahead, and Harry jumped, nearly dislodging Niall from his place.

 

They were definitely not alone. But that definitely was not the sound of a panther or a bear.

 

Niall saw a pair of yellow eyes reflecting back at him first, and then the wolf they belonged to emerged from the underbrush, growling lowly.

 

Harry started shaking beneath Niall, taking unsteady steps backwards away from the wolf, but the wolf kept approaching.

 

And then another wolf pushed through the trees behind it, and two more moved in on either side until Harry and Niall were surrounded.

 

In a brave attempt to stand his ground, Harry stamped at the ground and let out a loud neigh. But the wolves just snapped their teeth in response, edging closer. Harry bucked up to his back legs when the first wolf lunged, and Niall went tumbling down his back, letting loose a loud crow as he made impact with the ground.

 

A wolf was on him in a second, sensing vulnerable prey. But that’s not what if found. 

 

 _Oh hell no._ Niall was not going to die a fucking chicken. This wolf was looking for a fight. A _cock_ fight. And Niall was more than happy to oblige.

 

He sunk his claws into the wolf’s muzzle when it snapped at him, and started pecking viciously at the wolf's eyes, earning a pained whine and enough space to flap his wings desperately. And then he was _flying_.

 

He made it as far as the lowest branches of the trees and quickly scanned down to where the fight was very much still happening.

 

Harry was bucking at the wolves, but they were gaining the advantage, attacking in a well coordinated pack. Harry had a scratch on his flank and was limping a bit from where he’d taken an awkward step on a fallen branch.

 

Niall was helpless. He couldn’t really fight. Even in his human form he’d be no match for a pack of rabid, wild wolves. He could do nothing but watch in horror as his friend was surrounded, about to become prey lost to the real predators of the forest.

 

A wolf jumped on Harry’s back and something deep inside of Niall clicked into place. He threw his head back and let loose a shrill crow, louder than any sound he’d ever made. It was like a siren, wailing away as Harry fought below him. He cried and cried, begging for help in the only way he could.

 

And as if by divine intervention, help arrived.

 

With a booming roar, Liam tore through the trees first, followed by Louis, who lunged right for the wolf that was on Harry’s back. He took it down, tumbling to the forest floor with it, rolling in a tangle of snapping teeth and swiping claws as they fought.

 

Liam was holding his own, standing up on his back haunches as he roared at the remaining wolves, throwing out a massive paw at any of them that got close.

 

Yelps and whines echoed around them as Louis and Liam took care of business. Within thirty seconds of their arrival, the wolf pack was limping off, utterly defeated.

 

As soon as the threat was gone, Louis shifted into his human form and sprinted towards Harry, who had also shifted and was now curled up on the ground, sobbing.

 

“Harry! Baby!” he cried, dropping to his knees. His hands were everywhere, running over Harry’s skin, checking for damage, brushing his hair away from his face. “Are you okay? Please talk to me, Hazza. Tell me you’re okay.”

 

Harry sat up and wrapped his arms around Louis, still shaking.

 

Liam lumbered over to them, still his bear just in case the wolves came back. Zayn slithered down his arm and then shifted back as well. Instead of stooping to help Louis with Harry, Zayn turned his head up to the trees, up to Niall.

 

“Hey there, Nialler,” he called gently. “Are you okay? Do you think you can come down now? Or shift maybe?”

 

Niall shook his head. He wasn’t even quite sure how he’d gotten up here in the first place. It was all adrenaline, fight or flight, quite literally. And shifting was out of the question in this heightened state. He had no clue how to go about making that change.

 

“Okay then. You’re just going to have to trust me,” Zayn said, holding out his arms. “I’ll catch you. I promise.”

 

Niall shook his head again, chirping worriedly, but Zayn was looking at him with those dark, imploring eyes, and Niall knew there was no other option.

 

He let out a brave crow and lept from the branch. Instead of plummeting to his death, as he was almost sure would happen, he spread his wings, and then something amazing happened. They caught the breeze. And Niall was soaring.

 

Four pairs of eyes watched in awe as he circled around them, spiraling down until he landed right near Harry’s side. He hopped closer to his friend until he was right in Harry’s lap. Harry sniffled and scooped Niall up. He hugged him close and started a new round of tears into Niall’s feathers.

 

Niall clucked soothingly at his best friend, as Harry mumbled “thank you,” over and over again.

 

“Okay love,” Louis said soothingly, hand rubbing over Harry’s back, “Can you put Niall down? He needs to shift now. And we need to get home.”

 

Harry nodded weakly and let Louis remove Niall from his grasp. Louis placed Niall gingerly back down on the forest floor.

 

“Okay mate, you’ve done your job. We’re all safe,” Louis said softly. “You can come on back now.”

 

Niall wanted to tell him he didn’t know how, couldn’t do it. But then he looked over at Liam, who nodded down at him. The big bear took a breath and then let it out slowly, and as he did, the animal disappeared and the man was left in his place.

 

“It’s easy,” Liam said to Niall, shaking out the last remnants of fur. “It’s like letting go of a breath you’ve been holding. Try it. Big breath in, then breathe it out, and you’re _you_ again.”

 

Niall closed his eyes and sucked in a big breath through his beak. He held it for a second, feeling it fill his breast, and then when he let it out, something happened. It was a little bit uncomfortable, like squeezing through a hole in the fence or trying to zip up a pair of jeans that were too small. His skin was too tight for a moment, feathers fluttering, and then that feeling was gone, and he was standing at normal height again, feeling his very human toes sinking into the muddy forest floor.

 

The second he was back to himself, Harry was on him, hugging him again. This time, Niall could wrap his own arms around his friend and hold him right back.

 

“You saved me. Saved us. Thank you. Thank you,” Harry said, still a bit teary.

 

“I didn’t…” Niall started to say, getting choked up too.

 

“But you did,” Louis said earnestly. “We would have never found you two if we hadn’t heard you calling us like that. It was _you_ , Niall. We got here in time to help because of _you_.”

 

“Thank God you shifted tonight,” Harry mumbled from where his face was pressed against Niall’s shoulder. “And thank God you’re a fucking chicken.”

 

Louis patted his shoulder. “Yeah, thank God for that, bird brain.”

 

Niall laughed, clutching to Harry until he realized that he was still very much naked, as was Harry, as were all of them, actually.

 

Niall pulled back quickly. “Harry? I love you and all, and I know we’re gonna get even closer being roomies this fall, but I kinda feel like maybe I’ve seen enough of your horse dick for one day, okay?”

 

Harry honked out a laugh, wiping at his eyes.

 

“Well I certainly haven’t,” Louis sniffed, and then they were all laughing.

  


xxxxx

  


It was a long walk back to the clearing. Harry had really run far off their normal course in his excitement. They stayed in their human forms, but at every single rustle of branches or shadow in the trees, Louis was springing into his panther, ready for the fight.

 

Harry watched him fondly. “He’s just being protective,” he told Niall.

 

“Because he loves you,” Niall said.

 

Harry blushed and smiled at where Louis was stalking fiercely in front of them, eyes alert and body coiled for action. “Yeah. I guess he does.”

 

Louis looked back at them and then upon seeing Harry’s smile, seemed to calm a bit. The hair on the back of his neck flattened and his tail swayed playfully as he trotted over. He wound himself through Harry’s legs, purring, making Harry giggle.

 

“Are you sure you can’t pretend he’s your pet and stow him away at U of M with us?” Niall asked teasingly. “He seems docile enough.”

 

Louis hissed at Niall, smacking him in the butt with his tail.

 

Harry winked down at Louis. “Ah ah ah, naughty kitty.”

 

Louis’ panther let out a retching noise that had Harry throwing back his head and laughing. They were all a little trembly still from the fight, but things were getting back to normal now. They were dirty, tired, and a bit banged up, but they were okay.

 

When they got to the clearing, they all sighed a breath of relief. This was their safe place, their fortress. The forest might be dangerous, and they would certainly never tread lightly there again after what happened tonight. But the clearing had never failed them. They wouldn’t allow it to be tainted with any bad feelings.

 

Quietly, they walked back to the center of the open space where they’d left their belongings. They all got dressed and then decided without needing to say anything that while they were tired, they weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to this place yet.

 

They sat down in a circle and enjoyed the cool breeze of early summer, the soundtrack of crickets chirping and owls hooting keeping them company.

 

“I’m happy we got to see this, to be here for it,” Liam said softly, turning to Niall. Niall was wrapped up in a hoodie borrowed from Harry, seeing as Harry didn’t need one with how he was tangled up in Louis, leaning back against Louis’ chest. Niall smiled when he plucked a stray feather from the pocket of the hoodie and held it up to inspect. Harry was quick to steal the feather from him. He handed it up to Louis and inclined his head to the side, showing off the now tangled remnants of his braid. Louis smiled and tucked the white feather into Harry’s hair.

 

“I know it’s not what you wanted,” Louis added, fingering the feather in his boyfriend’s curls, “But it’s...you. We love you.”

 

“Even though I’m a chicken?” Niall asked.

 

“Especially because you’re a chicken,” Harry answered.

 

“No. He’s a _cock_ ,” Louis amended with a sly smirk. “Give him some credit.”

 

“I believe the politically correct term is cockerel or rooster,” Harry said haughtily, knocking his head back against Louis’ sternum.

 

“Oh, well pardon my french _hen_ ,” Louis retorted.

 

“And we would have loved you even if you didn’t shift,” Liam said over Harry and Louis still bickering.

 

“But I haven’t been part of all the memories,” Niall told them, pulling his knees up to his chest.

 

“What memories?” Zayn asked.

 

“You know...the ones out here,” Niall said, waving his hands around the clearing.

 

Harry frowned. “Sure you have. You’ve been here every single time.”

 

“But I haven’t been...out _there_. Running. Chasing.”

 

Louis snorted. “I think that’s honestly the most forgettable part. I, for one, would certainly like to forget what happened out in the forest tonight,” he said, hugging Harry a bit tighter. “I like it best when we’re right here. Doing what we’re doing now. Sitting like this. Talking. Just...being together. That’s the part I’m going to miss most.”

 

“And all the nights afterwards in the diner. I’m going to miss the milkshakes,” Liam lamented. “Remember that time Niall was laughing so hard ice cream came out his nose?”

 

They all laughed at that memory, and Niall was starting to see the point.

 

“Don’t forget about the car rides listening to Harry’s awful mixtapes,” Zayn added with a smile. “Thank god Niall took over as official roadtrip DJ when Harry played one too many sappy love songs after he and Lou finally decided to make it official.”

 

“Hey!” Harry shouted. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy those ‘sappy love songs’ once you had someone of your own to moon over. Watch me trample your ass next time we get out in the clearing, you legless lizard.”

 

“Won’t have your chance for awhile. You’re going to have to wait until Thanksgiving break,” Zayn said, and they all went quiet at that.

 

“It’s all going to change now, isn’t it?” Harry said sadly, looking down at the ground.

 

Niall took a deep breath, letting it fill his chest. He didn’t need to shift, was already in his human form, but when he let it out, he still felt like something had settled into place. Maybe he wasn’t a predator. And he didn’t have venom or fangs or claws. But he was a part of this pack. These were his boys. He protected them, just as he had tonight. And he wasn’t about to let them part from one another like this.

 

He reached a hand out into the middle of their circle, palm facing up, and nodded to the others. They followed suit, and four hands piled on the dirt over Niall’s.

 

“No. Nothing changes. We’re always going to have this place, and each other. But now we get to go off and see new places, have new experiences, meet new friends. And we get to bring all that back to one another the next time we’re here. Think of all the memories we’ll make then. Think of what we’ll share. I can’t wait for those nights,” Niall told them, squeezing the hands above his own.

 

“Strength in the collective,” Zayn said, ever wise, with a wistful smile.

 

Niall nodded. “Yeah. The pack spirit. Ours did pretty well against an enemy one tonight, didn’t it?”

 

“Don’t you mean our roost?” Louis teased.

 

“You see?” Harry said to Niall, “This is why you’re a chicken…”

 

“Cock,” Louis said, masking it poorly as a cough.

 

“A _rooster_ ,” Harry corrected with a half hearted glare for his boyfriend. “You look out for us. You don’t need to be as big as Liam, or as fast as Louis, or as deadly as Zayn to do that. You just need to be...you.”

 

“Just...Niall,” Zayn said.

 

“Just me,” Niall answered. “Yeah. I can do that.”

 

“Good. Now...I think it’s time we get going,” Liam said, “It’s nearly dawn.”

 

They gathered up their things and then left the clearing together, walking side by side on human legs.

 

“You know...chickens are the closest living relative to the T-rex,” Harry pointed out as they made their way back to Louis’ truck. “I watched a documentary about the secret life of chickens once.”

 

“Oh yeah, it’s pretty much Jurassic Park up in here. Niallasaurus Rex,” Louis said, elbowing Niall.

 

If Niall was in his chicken form, he would have been pecking at Louis again. As it was, he was already planning his revenge. An entire summer of waking Louis up at the ass crack of dawn by crowing outside his bedroom window.

 

“Chickens are actually quite fascinating,” Harry went on. “Did you know...” Everyone groaned, knowing they were in for another long winded story with little to no point.

 

“Yeah, no,” Louis interrupted quickly before Harry could really get going. He smoothed over the interruption with a quick peck of a kiss to Harry’s dirt speckled cheek. “Sorry, baby, but I don’t think I can suffer through another PETA endorsed lecture right now from our resident hay eater.”

 

“I only eat hay when I’m a horse,” Harry snuffled, sounding very much like said horse.

 

“Debatable,” Louis snorted.

 

“And besides,” Harry continued, “it’s not like any of you listen to me anyway. I made Louis watch the documentary and he still eats chicken nuggets.”

 

Niall gasped, hand pressed to his chest. “Es tu, Brute?”

 

“Hey! Up until yesterday, you survived on a steady stream of chicken wings. Don’t act so high and mighty, pal.”

 

Niall didn’t need any reminders about the loss of his beloved late night snack.

 

They finally made it back to Louis’ car as the first light of dawn was just rising on the horizon. They stopped for a minute, standing near the car on weary legs as they watched the warmth of the sun creep over the forest. It was another memory, one Niall would keep with him when he was spending long days cooped up in a dark library studying his way through Michigan winters.

 

“Look,” Harry said to Niall, inclining his head towards the East. He wrapped an arm around Niall’s shoulders, squeezing tight, and suddenly Niall was at the center of a group hug. “You bring us the sun, Niall. And where would we be without our sun?”

 

“Cock-a-doodle-do,” Niall whispered softly.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: No wolves were harmed in the making of this fic. The wolves are all alive and well, but they learned a valuable lesson about not picking fights with a chicken.
> 
> Title is from Zac Brown Band's Chicken Fried.
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr (RealityBetterThanFiction)!
> 
> xoxo
> 
> Cheers!


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